


details aplenty

by helsinkibaby



Category: NCIS
Genre: Community: 1-million-words, F/M, Fluff, Het, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-15
Updated: 2019-02-15
Packaged: 2019-10-29 06:30:02
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,684
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17802791
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/helsinkibaby/pseuds/helsinkibaby
Summary: “Put your drink down, throw your camera up, flip it around and take a payback picture” ...Or the one where Ellie’s friends take her out drinking on the day she gets divorced and they run into her new co-worker.





	details aplenty

**Author's Note:**

> Slightly late but for the neon sign challenge. Mine said “take a selfie, fake a life”

The bar is crowded with people on a Friday night, the music just short of uncomfortable, the bass thumping through Ellie’s body as she made her way back to the booth where her two friends were sitting. Thanking her NCIS firearms training for her steady hands and consequent ability to carry three Cosmopolitans through a teeming crowd, she laid said drinks down on the table. “Never again,” she said as she slid into the seat and across from her, Natalie snickered. 

“Oh please. Like you weren’t loving the attention you were getting.”

In point of fact, Ellie had spent most of her time standing at the bar acutely aware of how short her skirt was and how much flesh she was showing and she’d cursed Pam - who was sitting beside Natalie, who owned this dress and who had insisted that Ellie wear it out tonight - with all her might. 

“She’s right, Ell.” Pam took a dainty sip of her Cosmopolitan. “You might as well just keep that dress, it looks way better on you.” 

Privately, Ellie thought she’d never wear it again. Publicly, she had better manners than to say so to her friend. Even if it was probably written all over her face. “I don’t want any attention,” she reminded her friends instead and, predictably, they rolled their eyes in unison. “Seriously, guys, my divorce was just finalised today. Why would I want to pick up a guy tonight?” 

Pam didn’t blink. “Because the best way to get over one guy is under another one.” 

Natalie raised her glass. “I’ll drink to that.” She clinked it against Pam’s and Ellie didn’t bother to stifle her groan. 

“Besides.” There was a funny smirk on Pam’s face. “You’ve definitely got someone on the hook… not so tall, dark and very handsome over there in the middle of the dance floor keeps looking over at you.” 

Ellie knew she shouldn’t look. She absolutely should not. 

She looked. 

And groaned again. 

Her friends’ confusion was obvious and confusion turned to shock when she explained, “That’s Nick.” 

Natalie got it first. “Nick your new team mate Nick?” 

Pam’s head swung around, her dark hair swishing with the movement and almost taking Natalie’s eye out. “That’s Nick? Ellie, you did not tell us he was gorgeous!” 

Ellie scoffed, deciding not to mention that she’d shared those sentiments when when Nick had first started working with them. And definitely shared them again tonight, thanks to the dark jeans and dress shirt, open at the neck, that he was sporting. “He’s Nick.” 

“Nick who flirted non-stop with you?” Oh right. She had told Natalie that. 

“He flirts with everyone,” she said. “It’s, like, his default condition.”

That smirk was back on Pam’s face. “And do you flirt back?” Whatever was on Ellie’s face made her laugh. “Oh please… Ellie, you’ve been single for over a year now. Apart from a couple of dates with that Qasim guy… you have to get back on the horse sometime.” 

“Not with a co-worker.” 

Natalie rolled her eyes. “Well, at least you’d know you have a type… oh, real mature, Ellie.” That was because Ellie actually stuck her tongue at her. Then she jumped, because Pam dug her elbow into her ribs, a delighted grin on her face. Natalie looked at something over Ellie’s shoulder and a matching expression came over her face and Ellie knew what she was going to see before she turned around. 

Not that she turned around this time. 

She didn’t have to because Nick was standing at the table beside her. “Fancy meeting you here,” he said. He grinned down at her, then glanced across the table. “Ladies.” 

“Agent Torres.” Pam actually purred and, dress or no dress, Ellie resolved then and there to never talk to her again. 

Nick looked surprised. “You know my name,” he said, grinning cockily at Ellie because now he knew that she’d talked about him to her friends. 

“Nick, this is Pam and Natalie. Pam, Nat, this is Nick. My team mate.” There was a little more emphasis on the final two words than she’d normally place there. If Nick heard it, though, he didn’t seem bothered by it. Instead he just shook hands with Pam and Natalie before sliding into the booth beside Ellie. 

“Are you ladies celebrating anything in particular?” 

Ellie opened her mouth to reply. Natalie beat her to it. “Ellie becoming a single woman again,” she said and Ellie instantly resolved to never talk to her again either. Especially when Nick looked at her with a frown. 

“My divorce was finalised today,” she told him and his jaw dropped, just a little. 

“You never said-”

“Yeah, well, I’m not really interested in the entire bullpen dissecting my private life.” She meant it to sound firm, resolute, a woman in complete control of her life. Instead, she had a feeling it sounded more self pitying and pathetic. 

“So we are taking her out for drinks and dancing to celebrate her freedom from her cheating louse of an ex.” Natalie raised her glass and Nick didn’t hesitate to lift his own bottle of beer. 

“Cheers,” he said, tipping it off Natalie’s glass, then Ellie’s. She took a sip at the same time as he did, and she didn’t miss the tightness of his jaw, the sudden flint in his eyes. Almost as if he was angry at the thought of anyone cheating on her. 

“Seriously, Nick.” Pam leaned across the table, her eyes locked on Nick’s and Ellie could see trouble coming from a mile away. “Can you believe anyone would cheat on Ellie?” 

Ellie half expected him to fumble the question, uncharacteristic as that would be. She wouldn’t have even be surprised if he made a joke out of it, made some sort of smart remark with that smile of his that she was getting so used to. Instead though, he turned his head, looked right at Ellie and said, “No. I can’t.” 

It wasn’t what he said as much as how he said it. Totally serious, totally calm, his eyes locked on hers so she was in no doubt, could be in no doubt, that he meant every word. 

Goosebumps lifted on her arms. 

Pam recovered first and Ellie heard her voice as if from very far away. “So how about you take her out on the dance floor and show her your moves?” 

Nick hadn’t taken his eyes off Ellie’s and now he lifted one eyebrow, part question, part challenge. 

Ellie never could refuse a challenge. 

Which was how she ended up dancing most of the night away in Nick’s arms. 

“You can dance,” he told her when they were taking a breather a little later and Ellie was torn between amused at how surprised he sounded and being offended. 

“Ellie loves to dance.” Natalie was definitely sounding like she was feeling the effects of the Cosmopolitans. “Jake, not so much.” 

Nick turned another one of those surprised looks on her and Ellie shrugged. “He wasn’t the greatest dancer,” she said diplomatically. 

Natalie snorted. “You can say that again.” She held up her phone, waggled it at the two of them. “I may have put a video of you two up on Facebook. Just to rub his nose in it.” 

Nick’s eyes widened comically as he made the connection. “You’re still Facebook friends with your ex?” 

Ellie looked down. “I never got around to defriending him,” she admitted but even as she spoke, the surprise faded from Nick’s eyes, a mischievous glint replacing it. “What?” 

Nick didn’t answer, not directly. Instead, he lifted his phone, opened the camera app and extended his arm, wrapping the other arm around Ellie’s shoulders and pulling her close. “Smile,” he said and she did, giggled too as he snapped the picture and when he showed it to her, she had to admit it was a great picture. 

“How’s Jake’s Spanish?” he asked then and Ellie wrinkled her nose in remembered disgust. 

“Non-existent. Why?” 

Nick’s grin turned positively wicked. “No reason.” But he didn’t turn his phone away from her as he opened up the Facebook app and, while she watched, uploaded the picture. Then his fingers moved at speed over the keyboard and Ellie watched as words appeared that, on first glance (or first Google Translate, knowing Jake) appeared perfectly innocent. On second glance, however… well, her cheeks flooded crimson. 

But she didn’t stop him pressing the post button. 

“You shouldn’t have done that.”

It was a weak protest, merely a token, and they both knew it. Nick shrugged. “Payback picture. Give him something to think about,” he said. 

Ellie would blame the Cosmopolitans for what she said next. “Just him?” 

Nick blinked once, then his eyes fell to her lips, just for a second. When he looked into her eyes again, there was a smile on his lips that she’d never seen before. “No,” he said, so softly she could barely hear him. “Not just him.” 

Ellie knew that her two friends were sitting across from them, doubtless pretending they weren’t listening to every word. But it didn’t seem to matter when Nick leaned in towards her. 

He stopped halfway there as his phone vibrated, then vibrated again. Frowning, he glanced down at it, his frown deepening as he saw the message sender. “My sister,” he said and Ellie frowned too. 

“Is she ok?” 

Nick read the messages, then pressed his lips together. “So apparently, when I was taunting your ex by tagging you in that picture? I may have forgotten that all my friends will see it too. Including my sister. Whose Spanish is, obviously, fluent.”

Ellie’s eyebrows disappeared towards her hairline, even as her lips twitched. “That’s… unfortunate.” There was, after all, a reason why she wasn’t Facebook friends with any of her brothers. 

“She wants to know all the details,” Nick continued. 

Ellie gave him her best innocent look. “But there are no details.” 

When Nick looked at her, his eyes were dark, determined. “Yet,” he said, pulling her close again. 

And just like that, there were details aplenty.


End file.
